Reincarnation of the Cloud Dragon - Chapter 72

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This chapter is translated by Falnar Novels Team.
Support us by reading on our official site: https://falnarnovels.com
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Chapter 72.
“Next.”
Yun Cheon’s single word rang out through the Inn, cold and heavy as a funeral bell.
Thud—.
The headless corpse of the vanguard tumbled across the threshold and collapsed onto the floor.
The blood that surged upward froze the moment it touched the chill clinging to his blade, shattering with a crystalline crack.
At that grotesque sight, the crimson-robed men pressing toward the doorway halted as one.
None dared take another step forward.
“What… what is this…?”
“Did the ones inside do this?”
“Damn it, Blood Saint! What happened to the sacrifice!”
Their gazes wavered uncertainly.
An urgent command erupted from the rear.
“Don’t hesitate! Check what’s happening inside!”
Yet the sight beyond the open doorway froze their feet in place.
A half-extinguished lantern swayed its sallow light, casting a long shadow across the blood-stained floorboards.
An overturned table.
Spilled alcohol and blood congealed upon the ground.
And there, in the center of it all, stood a man in pitch-black robes, angled against the wreckage with his back to the carnage.
As the vanguard hesitated, Yun Cheon nudged the corpse wedged in the threshold with his foot.
The body twisted diagonally, further blocking the narrow entrance. Unable to bear the suspense any longer, one man cried out, his voice trembling with rage.
“Hey! Where is the Blood Saint!”
Whoosh—.
Yun Cheon flicked the frozen blood droplets from his blade.
“If you’re so curious, come in and see for yourself.”
A cold smile curved across Yun Cheon’s lips as he stood half-submerged in shadow.
That mockery became the spark.
“We’ve merely been caught off guard! Strike him down!”
With a roar, two men at the front surged through the doorway simultaneously. One thrust a spear at his abdomen, while the other swung an iron hook toward his shoulder.
But to Yun Cheon’s eyes, both were sluggish.
The blade flashed briefly.
Crack!
The spearman’s wrist flew into the air.
“Aaaahhh!”
With his wrist severed, the spear’s trajectory went awry.
Ignoring the screaming man, Yun Cheon’s foot drove past the threshold.
He advanced half a step. His blade rose vertically. The spearman’s armpit split open, and the other man’s throat tore wide.
Squelch—.
The linked technique of Chu Myeong’s sword form pierced precisely beneath the jaw.
“Gggk…!”
Leaping over the collapsing man whose blood boiled and screamed, I used his body as a springboard to launch myself skyward.
Crash—!
A cold blade gleamed through the air, carving through empty space.
Rip!
This time, the face. The third man’s brow, nose, and philtrum split in a perfect line.
Blood had no time to spill. The crimson spray that kissed the blade froze instantly and scattered like snow.
“…!”
Three in a single breath.
No—counting the first one whose head had already flown, it was already four.
As corpses piled up at the threshold, those behind could not dare to step forward.
“Do you intend to keep watching so leisurely?”
Yun Cheon’s low voice swept through the Inn with a chilling edge.
“You came seeking your offering, did you not? If you’ve come to retrieve it, then cross this threshold with your lives on the line.”
The faces of the blood-robed men twisted in unison.
“This bastard!”
“The front is too narrow—flank around!”
“Secure the blood vessel first!”
The men swept wide around the side of the Inn.
But in that instant, a black silhouette burst through the window on the right side of the Inn.
“I knew you would try that.”
It was Yalü Hee, moving as though she had been waiting for this moment.
She had not been watching the front that Yun Cheon defended, but rather the flank. If the front was blocked, their path was obvious.
Crash—!
The shuttered window burst outward from within, scattering wood splinters and glass shards into the night air.
Through those fragments, a single streak of crimson fury tore forward.
The two men approaching along the side wall had no time to react to Yalü Hee’s ambush.
In the darkness, the black blade drew first.
Slash!
The leading man’s neck tore open, blood spraying forth.
“There’s an ambush on the flank too!”
The man behind hastily raised his hook weapon, but Yalü Hee used the wall as a pivot, twisting her body into an unexpected angle.
“Gasp!”
They passed each other, but only one had properly wielded their weapon.
Shriek—.
Blood sprayed across the wall beside the Inn, accompanied by a scream.
Yalü Hee did not stop.
Rather than retrieving her blade, her leg shot upward first.
The Blood Wind Sect technique of Ma Chung and Kyoto manifested at her heel.
Her foot lashed out like lightning, striking the jaw.
Crack!
The man with the twisted jaw’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed to the ground.
“Damn it! Another ambush!”
“It’s not just the front! How many more are there?”
“We’ve only confirmed two so far! Watch for further ambushes!”
Two of them launching surprise attacks against dozens.
It was a sight that defied all logic.
Yet Yun Cheon and Yalü Hee’s reason for drawing the enemy outside the Inn was unmistakable.
Number Nineteen, who had slipped through the dog hole behind the kitchen.
They were buying time for the child to disappear into the darkness.
“Gasp… gasp…!”
Number Nineteen, having squeezed through the narrow gap, ran like a madman.
Every time the sound of weapons clashing and terrible screams erupted from the Inn behind, my heart felt as though it might stop.
[Don’t look back.]
Yun Cheon’s cold voice echoed in my ears.
I clenched the cold black iron token in my small hand until it felt like it might shatter.
How many alleys had I passed through?
Just as my breath reached my throat and my legs began to give way, a piece of paper fluttering in the wind caught my eye from the darkness ahead.
[Feng Yun]
‘There it is.’
The light from the Tavern with the posted notice was right before me.
“Agh!”
In that moment, my foot caught on a stone.
My body stumbled and the black iron token flew from my hand.
Clang.
The half-broken token rolled into the darkness.
“No, this can’t be…!”
I groped at the dirt ground with blood-stained hands.
“…Looking for this?”
A pale, long hand suddenly extended the black iron token toward me.
“Though, this seems to be my possession originally.”
A low, smooth voice.
I lifted my head.
Beneath the eaves of the Tavern, under the red lantern light, stood a man smiling with composure and ease.
It was Yu Ha.
“Y-you know that token? Then this place is… the Ilwol Trading Company?”
I cried out in a trembling voice.
“Shh. Lower your voice. You shouldn’t speak of it so openly.”
Yu Ha said, placing two fingers to his lips.
“Yes. What brings you to find me, young guest?”
With those words, the tension that had gripped me suddenly released, and my legs buckled beneath me.
“The… the Black Dragon Gang Leader told me to show this token to the Ilwol Trading Company!”
Yu Ha’s eyes narrowed to slits. His gaze had already fixed upon the crimson star mark half-visible on Number Nineteen’s nape.
“Show the token… that means to settle the debt from that day. So, what do I need to do?”
“Hah… hah… my brother and sister…! No, the other children…! At that Inn near Jinguan Pavilion!”
Number Nineteen spoke in disjointed gasps, his breath still ragged.
“Catch your breath first. I’ve already read the situation well enough.”
“Huff… huff….”
Yu Ha turned toward the interior of the Tavern and snapped his fingers once.
Snap—.
“You heard that?”
Two shadows—one black, one white—descended silently from the darkness.
The Ilwol Twin Wheels.
“Young Master Yu Ha, that child is a sacrifice of the Sura Blood Sect. Rash interference could bring trouble upon the Trading Company.”
“Wol No, spare me the lectures. Head toward the concealed Inn at Jinguan Pavilion. I won’t let my carefully laid plans crumble in a place like this.”
“…As you command.”
“Il No, contact Saengsa Jjon immediately.”
“As you command!”
After the two shadows vanished, Yu Ha approached Number Nineteen.
“Take heart, little one. I’m not the type to retreat without recovering both my debts and my investments.”
Yu Ha’s gaze turned toward the Inn, where the scent of blood drifted on the wind.
“That Yun Cheon. He must have been desperate to send even a Black Iron token to the boy’s side. So how many more children like you are there?”
In that instant, Number Nineteen’s eyes widened.
‘…Wait? Did I really tell him about the other children in detail?’
I had only asked for help without thinking.
I was still gasping for breath and hadn’t even properly described the horrors in the Underground Chamber.
“Uh… there are a lot! Tons of them!”
Number Nineteen felt as though possessed by a ghost.
Yu Ha, shifting his steps, casually fanned himself open while muttering.
“Hmm… more than I expected. At that scale… the calculations will become quite intricate.”
His eyes grew cold as they settled upon the Inn in the night.
‘Protecting dozens of children while fighting? Even for you, that won’t be easy.’
* * *
Clang—!
Crash!
The Inn had already become a hellscape of blood and flesh.
Though Yun Cheon from the front and Yalü Hee from the flank had succeeded in their ambush, it was only temporary.
The escort force pressed forward relentlessly.
From the start, there were only two of them.
By shaking both the front and flank simultaneously, they had bought time to extract Number Nineteen, but the numerical disadvantage itself had not disappeared.
Yalü Hee had already joined Yun Cheon, blocking the enemies pouring into the Inn.
Yet the numerical disparity could not be ignored.
“Push forward!”
“Their numbers are few!”
“Only two are visible. Watch only for ambushes!”
As the enemy’s assault intensified, Yun Cheon and Yalü Hee gradually retreated step by step.
From the Main Gate inward, past the central chamber strewn with overturned tables and chairs, they withdrew until they reached the stairs leading to the upper floor.
“The stairs! They’re fleeing upward!”
“The sacrifice must be on the upper level! Don’t let them escape!”
To the pursuers’ eyes, Yun Cheon and Yalü Hee appeared to be retreating under the weight of superior numbers.
A cold smirk played at the corner of Yun Cheon’s mouth.
‘They’ve taken the bait.’
The men in crimson robes surged toward the stairs like beasts that had caught the scent of prey.
Gwak Tu, commander of the Blood Scythe Squad and leader of the escort detail, narrowed his eyes with menace.
‘At this age, to possess such skill? Dangerous. I’ll cut those two down here first. We can search for Hyeol Seong afterward.’
Gwak Tu intended to subdue Yun Cheon and Yalü Hee first, then search the basement.
“Enough! Suppress those two now!”
Yet standing midway up the stairs, Yun Cheon’s expression bore no trace of a fugitive’s desperation—only a chilling smirk.
‘I’ve created sufficient distance between us and the children below. And from this position… even a small force can overwhelm many.’
A narrow staircase.
No matter how many crowded forward, only a limited number could ascend at once.
Yun Cheon had not been fleeing.
He had merely drawn them to the perfect position for slaughter.
Looking down at the enemies crowding below the stairs, Yun Cheon spoke softly.
“Are you all here?”
The pale blade in Yun Cheon’s right hand radiated a bone-chilling aura.
And his empty left hand slowly moved toward his back.
Shing—
A sword was drawn with a clear, ringing note.
In that instant, Yun Cheon’s presence transformed entirely.
‘Divided Soul, Dual Severance.’
Sword in the left hand, blade in the right.
Left sword and right blade gleamed in the darkness.

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This chapter is translated by Falnar Novels Team.
Support us by reading on our official site: https://falnarnovels.com
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